1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to electronic systems designed to emulate human consciousness, and more particularly to a system and method of providing simulated sense perception to such systems.
2. Description of the Background Art
It is well known that most state of the art pattern recognition technology that could be used to simulate sense perception works only in very narrow domains. Because of this, there are many things humans find easy to do that computers are currently unable to do. Tasks such as visual pattern recognition, understanding spoken language, recognizing and manipulating objects by touch, and navigating in a complex world are easy for humans. Yet, despite decades of research, we have no viable algorithms for performing these and other cognitive functions on a computer.
An example of a developing technology that may be able to operate in somewhat wider domains is the Hierarchical Temporal Memory (“HTM”) technology described in Hawkins, et., Hierarchical Temporal Memory, Concepts, Theory and Terminology, Numenta, Inc., 2006 (http://www.numenta.com). However, in HTM technology, the detection of novel input is still accomplished by a mechanistic process similar to pattern recognition, where new input is compared to a probability model of invariant representations of previously detected objects. HTM and other state of the art image processing technology produce probability models or mechanistically calculated invariants based on what their sensors sense in the world as anticipated by human programmers for whatever purposes the employers of the programmers had in mind, but they do not identify objects the way conscious life-forms do.
What is needed, therefore, is a system that can sense objects in an environment that has a greater degree of certainty than known systems. What is also needed is a system that simulates sense perception in a way that more closely resembles sense perception in animals. What is also needed is a system for simulating sense perception that is not limited by a programmer's anticipation of objects to be sensed by the system.